Friday, 25 January 2013

Early Review: 'Til The World Ends

This
is a collection of three stories all set at shortly after the end of the world –
with each story focused on a very different apocalypse so I really need take
this review one story at a time.

Dawn
of Eden by Julie Kagawa

Before The Immortal Rules, there was the Red Lung, a relentless virus determined to take out all in its path. For Kylie, the miracle of her survival is also her burden-as a doctor at one of the clinics for the infected, she is forced to witness endless suffering. What's worse, strange things are happening to the remains of the dead, and by the time she befriends Ben Archer, she's beginning to wonder if a global pandemic is the least of her problems....

This
is a prequel to the fantastic Immortal Rules. Set at the start of the zombie
plague, this focuses on Kylie, a young doctor who continues to help those
infect with the Red Lung disease, until Ben Archer turns up at her clinic and
the dead suddenly don’t stay dead for long. The relationship between Kylie and
Ben is a joy to read as they are thrown together in the most terrifying of
circumstances and try to build something together. Theirs is a really tender
relationship, really heart warming. Although for a YA book, there is a rather
hot scene at one point! The writing is absorbing and captivating – it was
impossible to stop reading until the end!

Thistle
& Thorne by Ann Aguirre

After a catastrophic spill turns the country into a vast chemical wasteland, those who could afford it retreated to fortresses, self-contained communities run by powerful corporations. But for Mari Thistle, life on the outside-in the Red Zone-is a constant struggle. To protect her family, Mari teams up with the mysterious Thorne Goodman. Together, they'll face an evil plot in both the underworld of the Red Zone and the society inside the fortresses that could destroy those on the outside...for good.

This
was just a wonderful ride through a post-apocalyptic wasteland with thief Mari
forced to work with mysterious Thorne in order to save her family and over
throw the leader of the underworld in their zone. As ever Ann Aguirre creates
realistic characters that aren’t invincible but smart enough to play to their
strengths. Mari and Thorne think their away obstacles and problems, while the
Red Zone and the enclosed fortress worlds are wonderfully described and I
really felt like this was just the beginning of Mari’s story. Hopefully Ann
will revisit this world at some point!

Sun
Storm by Karen Duvall

Sarah Daggot has been chasing storms since she was a child. But after the biggest solar flares in history nearly destroy the planet, she becomes a Kinetic, endowed by her exposure to extreme radiation with the power to sense coming storms-in the cosmos and beyond. And she's not the only one. Sarah believes the Kinetics are destined to join forces and halt the final onslaught of the sun. She'll vow to keep trying to convince the one missing link in their chain of defense, the enigmatic Ian Matthews, up until the world end.

Sarah
has the ability to predict the devastating sun storms that are ravaging the planet
but when Ian turns up in her home town she finds herself in the midst of a
battle for the survival for the world. There was enough action in this short
story to fill a whole novel. However, I felt that Sarah wasn’t someone I felt
much for – she seemed to believe people very quickly. There were plenty of
occasions when characters were just info-dumping to her, bringing her up to-date
and she kept changing her mind based on what they said. I’d rather she was
shown what was happening more rather than just listening. It made her seem
quite gullible. I liked the idea of the dangerous sun storms and the mutations
for those few who survived but overall I just didn’t connect with the main
character.

The
Dawn of Eden and Thistle and Thorn were both excellent and well worth a read,
but I was less enthused with Sun Storm

Recommended
for fans of Suzanne Collins and Jennifer Estep. 8 out of 10

3 comments:

I agree with you. I was thinking that the Kagawa story was written more as adult genre rather than YA. I also loved Aguirre's story. I so want her to continue with that one! And I agree with the last. There was a lot of the world building I had to ignore that was not possible. Wasn't my fave either.

Oh I won this one from Ann!! :D I can't wait to read Thistle and Thorn. And I have the book that goes with The Dawn of Eden, so excited about it as well. But Karen Duvall is new to me. I'm curious to try that story out. :) Thank you!